Ahead of the BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Yatra’ in poll-bound Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday asked the BJP-led Centre to first check drug supplies in party-ruled Gujarat instead of “defaming” Punjab over the drug issue.Mann said opposition parties were “deliberately portraying Punjab as a state plagued by drugs and lawlessness while turning a blind eye to the broader national drug smuggling network”. The BJP’s campaign, set to begin on September 18, is expected to bring the issues of law and order and drug abuse to the centre of political discourse.Flanked by DGP Gaurav Yadav and other senior police officers, Mann said Punjab remained a peace-loving state, and that the state’s law and order record was being unfairly questioned”. He said the Centre should first address the drug consignments entering the country through ports in Gujarat and major seizures in other BJP-ruled states, such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.Nakli pagdi barb at Saini stirs rowMann triggered a row by claiming Haryana CM Nayab Saini ‘keeps a nakli pagdi in his car’. “He doesn’t wear it in Panchkula… puts it on the moment he enters Punjab,” the CM saidSaini hit back, saying calling the turban nakli pagdi was an insult to Sikh Gurus & PunjabisHe said Mann must apologise to Sikhs and Punjabis immediatelyMann said drug packets weighing between 1 kg and 5 kg were being smuggled into Punjab from Pakistan and were being regularly intercepted. “But what about the 3,000 kg of drugs seized at a port in Gujarat? It is the home state of the Union Home Minister. Why is that not even acknowledged? They only know how to blame and defame,” he said. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had seized nearly 3,000 kg of heroin at Gujarat’s Mundra port on September 15, 2021.He said Punjab’s geographical position made it particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling. “The state shares a 533-km border with Pakistan and, being a gateway to the country, faces continuous attempts to push drugs and weapons across the border. Nearly 40 per cent of Punjab Police personnel have been assisting the Border Security Force…. The police have also strengthened their own anti-drone capabilities and acquired a fleet of new vehicles to improve policing,” he said.Defending the government’s record against organised crime, Mann said, “Since 2022, the Anti-Gangster Task Force has arrested 1.24 lakh gangsters and their sympathisers. We have recovered 1,170 weapons, 15 hand grenades, 858.26 kg of heroin, 480.26 kg of opium, 3,056.85 gram gold along with Rs 1.28 crore cash. Eighteen gangsters have been deported from other countries by the Punjab Police,” said Mann.The DGP said the Punjab Police had registered 60,582 FIRs and arrested 79,784 drug smugglers, including 708 big fish, since the launch of ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’. “A record 3,803 kg of heroin, 976 kg opium and 46 tonnes of poppy husk have been recovered between March 2025 and September 2026. Properties worth Rs 366 crore, purchased with money earned through drug trade, have been frozen in 914 cases and 102 hawala operatives have been arrested,” said Yadav.The DGP said gangster Amritpal Singh Dalam, who was arrested from Moldova, was the 10th international fugitive whose arrest was secured by the Punjab Police. On grenade attacks, Yadav said the accused in various cases had been arrested.The Chief Minister also flagged the alleged nexus between drugs, organised crime and the wider network of illegal arms entering Punjab. Referring to the recovery of assault rifles, he asked, “Where did the 54 AK-47s come from?” He said such developments were harmful to Punjab and could not be viewed merely through the prism of state law and order.Taking a swipe at the Shiromani Akali Dal, Mann said he found it “laughable” that the party was raising the issue of gangsters after having governed the state for years. However, when asked about Nabha jailbreak accused Gurpreet Singh Sekhon joining AAP, Mann chose not to respond.Mann also accused the BJP-led Centre of “discriminating against Punjab”. He said he had repeatedly raised the issue of drug smuggling at meetings of the North Zonal Council and would continue to press the Centre to address trafficking through other states and ports.The Chief Minister also criticised the Centre over the proposed Seeds Act, saying Punjab had not been included in the group constituted to decide on the legislation despite the state being one of India’s major agricultural centres.